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Me realizing Simply Alex isn't "simply" about a girl (Alex) escaping a country that a) hurt her, and b) was being destroyed. But is more about a boy (İlkay) who is really Samuel choosing David, but İlkay is also David having to watch Jonathan die because he never had the courage to kill Saul, so he has to ask Alex to kill him but it is still too late and the throne is going to someone else someone who is both infinitely better and worse than he could ever be.
So I remember each book in the Simply Alex series
Book 1: A False Queen
Books 2: Stolen Heir
Book 3: Simply Alex
Simply Alex scene that may or may not make the cut:
Ilkay took another breath, praying for the bravery.
"Please my lady, sir knight... I know you feel safe here, I wouldn't want to do anything to ruin that either... but the vision was clear. Only one of noble blood can free Avalon again, please! The people suffer!" He whispered with feeling, not even daring to look up.
Across from him Alex smacked her hand down her spoon, transforming it into a dagger, and shoving away from the table in anger.
It felt like even the fire in the hearth held it's breath.
"My son will not die for you like that! I will not sacrifice him like that!" She snarled clutching the knife but not yet pointing it at him.
Beside her Markus hadn't even flinched.
Ilkay wished he had that kind of fortitude.
His hands shook like leaves under the table, but at the corner of his eye that God forsaken vision chain was already writhing in through the door. Had it gotten bigger?
"I wasn't talking about your son." He said before he could stop himself.
The shock of that was apparent on her frame, she almost lost hold of the knife.
"What... who then?" She asked
"You my queen." Ilkay replied. "You are the reason for this war after all"
She fell back into her seat like a puppet with their strings cut. Markus finally moved, reaching to catch her.
"What do you mean by that?" He hissed angrily.
Ilkay kept his eyes on queen Alexandra, and answered. "I was the one to bind you and king Kieran. I know how he used you..."
Shame colored her cheeks the way it only could on the skin of nobles.
"You know how seriously our God takes vows like that. We allowed that in our city, in His temple." (I allowed it by never saying anything he thought.) "Only you or your bloodline can turn away such Vengeance. The people don't deserve this. Please forgive them."
Thought: what if they were all nomadic peoples before the main country settled? Like a tower of babel kind of thing?
"You don't have to do this! They didn't do anything to you!" I said trying to grab his hand (when had it gotten so big? So full of scars?), tried to make him look at me. He shook it off without looking.
"They did do something to my brother, they blinded him!" He snarled
"He's the reason you're like this though" I say. "You're just perpetrating the cycle! Let it go and maybe you both can live!" I beg
That horrible sword doesn't dip neither in surrender or for the kill. It gives me hope.
His face stays facing forward, but his eye slides back to gaze at me, he's gotten so old how could I have thought I could leave everything behind like there wouldn't be consequences?
"I'm the god of vengeance Alexandra, it's all I know all this sword knows, you expect me to be something than I was made to be?"
"You're not a tool like it is Azazel, there's no one holding your grip, please there is another way let me show you!"
